Under a Superhero's Cape
by 61wisampa
Summary: He calls Sherry a Supergirl because honestly, to him she was. But like all superheroes, wearing a cape all the time can get exhausting. That's why he'll be there to take it off for her.


**Disclaimer: Not mine... unfortunately... T-T**

* * *

**Under a Superhero's Cape**

Jake had to admit that after six months of being a lab rat and seeing four white walls around him every day, it was nice seeing his escort-turned-partner—and the slight (near complete) state of undress on Sherry's part hadn't been unwelcomed as well. Of course, with his big mouth, he had somehow made their awaited reunion into an awkward and tense escape mission.

To make matters worse, when he had tried to casually ask her about what had happened to her in the past six months he'd heard a hidden bitterness and resentment in her voice that he knew he'd hit a sore spot. And so he learned to just keep quiet until she recovered from the same traumatic experience he knew she'd received when she was just a kid.

Maybe it was because of the long time he hadn't seen her in action but as they searched for a way to contact her superiors, he could swear she was a lot more aggressive—and reckless—than the last time. He had shrugged it off at first but when they entered what seemed like a gambling room—pool tables, roulettes and a white grand piano—he knew something was up.

"The left side's clear. Go and play the piano. I'll cover you." Sherry half-screamed over the hail of bullets coming from the remaining J'avos before coming out of her cover—which had been one of the pool tables in the room—and shooting enemies like a movie heroine.

"Wait, Sherry!" he tried to stop her but another wave of bullets prevented him from moving.

When he saw that, despite the gunshots, Sherry didn't hide, his protective instinct suddenly made him jump out of his hiding place and onto Sherry, shoving her away from the fray.

"What are you doing, Jake? Go!" she yelled in slight exasperation and at the same time, pushing him off of her.

"I am not letting you take on all these bastards alone!" he shouted back defiantly, trying to keep her pinned down and away from the raining bullets, "You're gonna get yourself killed!"

"I won't!" with surprising strength, she pushed him off roughly and towards the grand piano that surely held one of the ID medals they needed, "Just go and play the damn piano!"

He wanted to argue more with her but she once again carelessly revealed herself—to keep the heat off him, he was sure—and resumed shooting as if he hadn't said a word.

With a deep growl, he conceded, running towards the piano and playing the piece settled on top of it.

When he finally grabbed the medal, he turned back to her and an empty room. For a moment, he was impressed at what she had done but when he saw the blood stains on her clothes, he immediately knew that those were not from the J'avos and glared at her for her recklessness.

She met his gaze, but to his surprise, she stared right back, not even flinching when he sent her the scowl that had made her uncomfortable six months ago.

For a moment, they stayed there, her cold gaze unwavering against his heated glare.

"C'mon," she was the first one to break the silence, her voice as frigid as her stare unnerving him, "We still have a few more to go."

He watched in slight worry as she walked out the door as if there hadn't been a shootout a minute ago.

_'Just what the hell happened to you, Sherry?'_

* * *

They found two more medals in the bath area—(the water was pink… what kind of hot spring is this?)—one under a heavy cart and another in the pool—or spa. He retrieved the one that needed pushing while Sherry had dove into the warm pink water. He was quite glad that she did. He didn't really fancy getting his boots wet and after getting soaked, most of the blood on Sherry's clothes was washed off.

He didn't really want any more reminders that she'd been hurt.

"Here," she tossed him the last medal they would need. She readied her weapon before beckoning him towards the door, "C'mon, the sooner we find a phone, the faster we can get out." Without another word, she headed out the room, clothes still wet.

If he hadn't been too focused on her strange behavior, he would've appreciated her currently almost see-through _white_ shirt.

* * *

On the way back to the Buddha statue, they encountered problems that had given Jake a constant worry. It wasn't the enemies, really—the J'avos are easy, those that transform could be handled and the crystal-hatching-monster-thingies are more than welcome to meet his Magnum. But throughout the whole fight Sherry had been reckless enough to know that she was doing it on purpose. For what reasons, he didn't know yet but he was going to find out. In the middle of a gun fight wasn't the time though so he opted to wait until they find a safer place. In the meantime, he had tried his best to keep her from getting shot again.

When they finally deposited all ten medals and the door on the east was opened, he finally deemed it safe enough to confront her when they entered a short empty hallway.

"Hey, Sherry," he grabbed her wrist as they were walking towards the newly discovered room making her turn to him, "What was that all about?"

She wrenched her hand from his grasp. He saw the same icy gaze she had since meeting again and he swore this was not the same Supergirl he met six months ago. "What was what?"

"You going all suicidal." He refrained from shouting just in case there were more enemies but the anger and frustration in his voice was there.

"I'm _not_ suicidal."

"Could've fooled me when you fearlessly raged hell in the middle of a bullet fray!"

"I'm not dead, am I?" she turned and started walking away from him.

"Not yet, thanks to that super power of yours." He moved quickly, grabbing her to make her face him again. He was sick of her ignorance and indifference of her own well-being. "Did you really think I wouldn't notice how many times you got shot?"

Once again, she pulled away from him, "Why the hell are you mad? I'm no longer hurt and a few shots won't kill me."

"That's the damn mindset of yours that's pissing me off!" he could barely contain his voice when he screamed at her. He took a step toward her, emphasizing how much he towered over her as he glared. "Just because you heal doesn't mean it's okay to let yourself be a human target practice. Do you want to get hurt?"

"What if I do?!" she took a step toward him as well, matching the gaze he was giving her. It surprised him somewhat, making him take half a step back. "Huh? What if getting hurt is how I get over those tests they made me go through again?" she walked another step forward, making him retreat. Her voice suddenly lowered but it only managed to frighten him more. "I don't know what they did to you, Jake, but I assure you, you would rather go through yours ten times over rather than suffer mine." She promptly turned back and walked away, leaving him dazed for a short moment.

It only took a second for him to follow her and catch her wrist. "Wait, Sherry…"

"No, Jake!" she tried to break free again but this time he held tight, "Just… just let me be." She told him softly sounding every bit as vulnerable as she really was.

He didn't really know what he was doing, but then he found himself turning her around to face him and embracing her, wrapping his arms around her shoulders to keep her there. He placed her head under his chin and lightly tightened his grip when she struggled. He wasn't used to this type of physical contact, but as awkward as he knew the position should be, he felt like it was oddly… right.

"I'm sorry…" he told her in a whisper.

"No—shut up," She pushed harder away from his chest, "I don't want your pity—"

"I'm sorry I couldn't escape sooner," he continued, holding her firmer even when she stopped resisting, "If I did, you wouldn't have to go through their _fuckin'_ experiments. I should have saved you sooner…"

"…Jake—"

"I'm sorry… I failed you," he pushed her away slightly to look at her face. Seeing that there were tears running down her cheeks, he wiped them with his gloved thumbs, "But I promise you this, I will _never_ let anyone do that _shit_ to you again, alright? Over my friggin' corpse."

A small smile broke out on her face as she nodded lightly. Silently, Sherry thought of how amazing it was that Jake Muller could manage to be sweet yet still maintain his potty mouth.

Jake smirked, then jerked his head towards the direction of the door they had been headed. "C'mon then, Supergirl. Time to put the cape back on. But don't forget to take it off every once in a while. Superheroes need a break too."

They separated, and though Jake felt a bit disappointed, he was still satisfied when he saw a genuine smile on her face, "Right. Let's get the hell outta here."

"Aye, aye."

They strode towards the electrically locked door. Upon brief inspection, they noticed it was the kind that the two switched had to be pushed at the same time to open. Placing themselves on either side of the door, they locked gazes, sending each other a muted signal.

But before they did, Sherry spoke, "Jake?"

He looked at her in question with an eyebrow raised, "Yeah?"

She seemed to hesitate for a moment, but then took one step towards him and kissed his cheek, effectively freezing him on his spot.

Sherry stepped back, her face red as she smiled at him gratefully. Before he could utter a response, she said, "Thanks for taking my cape off… I needed the reminder."

Finally overcoming the shock, he tried to push away the sudden shyness he felt as he remembered feeling her lips on his cheek by forcing out a cocky smirk and replying, "No problem. Just tell me if you need help taking off anything else."

She blushed deeper, but her smile was immediately replaced with a scowl, "You just had to ruin it with your wiseass jokes."

"Who said I was joking?"

There was still a smirk on his lips when he said it but the intensity of his gaze told her he was completely serious.

Without breaking eye contact Sherry hovered her hand over the switch on her side prompting Jake to do the same. Pushing at the same time, the door opened. They stayed by the door to check the place of hostiles and it was at this moment that Sherry replied.

"If we find my phone, I'll give you my number. After this is over, text me if your offer still stands."

She had said it in such a casual manner that he had to pause to realize he wasn't hearing things. Letting out another smirk, he muttered, "Hell yeah."

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**Author's Notes:**

**This is something i started a long time ago but never got to finishing it because i don't know how to end it XDD and well, somehow i did and posted it. Never thought i would haha**

**Chapter 3 is my favorite chapter in Jake's campaign (for obvious reasons, right Jake fangirls? XD) so i couldn't help but write a little something about it :D**

**i didn't expect myself to end the story the way i did but then thinking about Jake... yep, he'll totally say something sexual and ruin the romantic atmosphere XDDD he's sweet when he can be though. but does it seem romantic to you or is it more of friendship? O_O**

**and is he OOC? i mean, i'm aware Sherry is at the beginning of the story but that's because she's still coping with the trauma she experienced again...**

**Anyway, i didn't proofread this. please tell me if there were any mistakes :))**

**Reviews are much appreciated ;D**

**~61wisampa**


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